A
Memo to Aspiring Movie Directors in Bollywood: Please
Combat the Acid Throwing Menace in South Asia. The Law is
not enough!

Of the
many ills that currently plague our society one that is
most alien to readers in the West is the Acid Throwing Menace
in South Asia. The Acid Survivors Foundation (established
in 1998, Bangladesh) reports in this regard,

Throwing
of sulfuric acid on the face and body of young females has
become an increasingly popular way of expressing anger or
frustration by jilted men, some being jilted lovers, ex-husbands,
and the like.

So frequently
occurring is this menace, that often, this is how a typical
news item in Bangladesh can sometimes read,

"In
1998, a man crept into Minara Khatun's bamboo hut in the
middle of the night, poured concentrated sulfuric acid on
her face and walked away as she woke screaming -- all because
she rejected his offer for marriage…"

Or
a more statistical report like this one, Dec 7, 2003:
Incidents of acid attack are increasing in Khulna region,
triggering sheer panic among the peace-loving and law-abiding
people of the region. Of the victims, nine are male and
14 female. … [Source: The Daily Independent, Bangladesh]

The
situation is no different in other South Asian nations like
India and Pakistan. The New York Times (Dec, 26, 2001) reports
that kerosene as well as acid has fast become the weapons
of choice for attacks on wives in India. Another report
(UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
August 7, 2003) states that the Acid Throwing Menace is
increasing at the rate of 200% in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.
While there was only nine reported cases in 2001, 56 cases
were reported in 2002 and, for 2003, by June there have
been already 32 cases.

The
numbers reported above may appear insignificant in the face
of more than a billion people that live in South Asia today.
But these numbers are only the tip of the iceberg, considering
that most incidents go unreported in rural areas. What makes
the case of Acid Throwing more heart-wrenching to those
of us, the more privileged ones, are the grotesque pictures
of disfigured women who are now struggling to survive in
society.

The
Legal system has failed miserably to combat this menace,
because the South Asian judiciary already has one of the
toughest laws in the world in this regard. In the Provincial
Assembly of Punjab last year, a resolution declaring acid
attacks on women to be equivalent to attempted murder was
unanimously approved. In Bangladesh, acid throwing has the
maximum punishment of a death penalty. Acid manufacturing
industries have to undergo close scrutiny and auditing to
make concentrated acids less accessible to the frustrated
and misguided. Similar enactments have taken place in both
the Central and State ruling assemblies of India as well.

But
where the law has failed, the media in South Asia can perhaps
be more effective in improving the frustrated mindsets of
certain youths. Why? Because, it is my strong belief, that
the media (fingers pointing at Mumbai), is partially responsible
for the rapid worsening of this menace. The social fabric
and the psyche of the less educated masses spanning Karachi
to Assam are fed and altered by the overwhelming dominance
of Hindi movies made in Bollywood. We are forced to watch
fantasy love stories (comprising 80% of Bollywood's annual
turn-over) that are cast in a make-believe world that is
far-fetched from reality.

A
typical story line in Bollywood runs on the "Boy
(very poor) meets girl (very rich)" line: Boy
falls in love; Boy wants Girl, works hard for it, even at
times, risking his life; Boy fights off 40 villains, the
corrupt police and social head honchos who are against the
union; Boy finally proves that his love is true. These stories
have become even more fantastic and it's quite difficult
nowadays to identify if the movie ever had a distinct story
line or a message in it at all. As Preity Zinta, a top-most
Bollywood actress, so correctly puts it in a BBC interview
(April 1, 2004), "A conservative society... is
leapfrogging from orthodoxy to in-your-face sex on television,
films and the internet"

But
how often has a Bollywood movie addressed a social ill like
Acid Throwing given the fact that its typical amorous script
is so well-suited to depict a collage of rejection, dejection,
frustration, and happiness that comes with the four-letter
word called 'LOVE'? As far as I remember, I don't think
there has ever been any scene in a movie that directly addressed
this ill (please dare to prove me wrong). Yet, the South
Asian movie industry is most suitably poised to implement
the potentially most effective remediation strategy for
certain segments of South Asian Youth which is to initiate
a gradual change of their mindsets. While we all get temporary
relief from the everyday economic hardships of life in a
3-hour silver screen showing undulating bellies choreographed
with chiseled male bodies, at the end of the day, these
movies are perhaps subconsciously raising the (fake) expectations
of these frustrated youth.

I
therefore want to send out a memo to the Media, particularly
to the Movie Industry located near Mumbai (and others such
Lollywood and Dollywood) and to aspiring movie directors
and producers. Please combat the Acid Throwing Menace through
your artwork, generosity and philanthropy. When the toughest
laws seem so sterile, let us start a mass campaign to present
this menace within the existing commercial framework of
love stories. Let us try to understand the causes behind
the menace and let us try to show a slice of reality to
the viewers to give them a more distilled perspective on
life. And perhaps religion can also play a role. I'm sure,
Islam, like other religions (such as Hinduism) has perhaps
some worthy sayings (or hadiths from our Prophet PBUH) that
could be used by the establishment. Of all the khutbahs
I've attended, I have not heard one yet by an Imam that
directly addressed a social ill such as the Acid Throwing
Menace. Why can't we change this situation instead of giving
our fiery speeches every week on heaven and hellfire?